Slow sales push unsold goods above expectations

Posted: Saturday, September 13, 2008

Business inventories shot up in July by the most in four years as sales slowed.

The Commerce Department said that businesses' supplies of unsold goods in warehouses and stock rooms rose by 1.1 percent in July. Economists were expecting a 0.5 percent gain. It marked the biggest increase since July 2004.

The increase in inventories came as business sales rose by a smaller-than-expected 0.5 percent in July, down from a 1.7 percent rise in June. Economists expected a 1.4 percent July gain.